Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Parasitology - Microscopy, Equipment, and Biosafety

Vocabulary flashcards generated from PHARM 214L Activity 1 and Activity 2 lecture notes covering microscopy, equipment, apparatus, and biosafety levels.

Microscope

A system of accurately ground lenses arranged to give sharp, clear, magnified images of minute objects.

Microscopy

The technology of making very small things visible to the naked eye.

Magnification

The process of enlarging something only in appearance, related to scaling up visuals or images to be able to see more detail.

Resolving Power

The ability of the lenses to distinguish fine detail and structure, or to distinguish two points a specified distance apart.

Refractive Index Principle

The principle that when two substances have a different index of refraction, the light will bend as it passes from one material to another.

Simple Microscope

A microscope that has one lens, similar to a magnifying glass, such as Leeuwenhoek's simple microscopes which magnify images from $100\text{X}$ to $300\text{X}$.

Compound Microscope

A microscope that has a series of lenses which enables us to examine very small specimens and some fine details.

Light Microscopy

Microscopy that uses visible light to observe specimens, including Brightfield, Darkfield, Phase-contrast, Differential interference contrast, and Fluorescence.

Brightfield Microscopy

A type of light microscopy where the specimen appears against a bright background, used for various stained specimens.

Darkfield Microscopy

A type of light microscopy using a special condenser with an opaque disk where light enters the objective lens, used for microorganisms which cannot be stained.

Phase-Contrast Microscopy

A type of light microscopy that uses a condenser with an annular diaphragm allowing direct light to pass through, used for detailed examination of internal structures without requiring staining.

Fluorescence Microscopy

A type of light microscopy that uses a UV or near-UV source of illumination, used for observation of natural fluorescence and immunofluorescence.

Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

A type of light microscopy that uses different refractive indexes to produce 3D images of samples.

Inverted Microscopy

A type of light microscopy where the light source and condenser are on top, above the stage, used for observation of living cells under more natural conditions.

Electron Microscopy

Microscopy that uses a beam of electrons instead of light and offers much greater resolving power.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

An electron microscopy technique where electrons are reflected from the specimen to magnify $1,000\text{X}$ to $10,000\text{X}$, used to study surface features of cells and viruses.

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)

An electron microscopy technique where electrons pass through the specimen to magnify $10,000\text{X}$ to $100,000\text{X}$, used for examination of viruses or internal ultrastructure in thin sections of cells.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STEM)

An electron microscopy technique that uses a thin metal probe that scans a specimen to reveal bumps and depressions of atoms on its surface.

Atomic Force Microscopy

Microscopy that measures the deflection of a laser beam aimed at the tip of a probe that travels across the surface of the specimen, used for visualization of individual molecules and atoms.

Screw Capped Tubes

Laboratory tubes used when there is a need to culture microorganisms and for substances that must be protected from contamination; used to make broth, agar deep, and agar slant.

Durham Fermentation Tube

An inverted small tube filled initially with solution, used to detect the production of gas by microorganisms.

Smith Fermentation Tube

A tube simpler than a Durham tube, also used for observing microorganisms perform fermentation.

Petri Dish

Laboratory glassware used to make agar plates for microbiology studies.

Volumetric Flask

Glassware calibrated for precise volume, used for measuring or storing different amounts of liquid.

Volumetric Pipette

A pipette that has a single graduation allowing it to deliver one specific volume accurately.

Serologic Pipette

Serological or blow-out pipettes that have no $0\text{ mL}$ mark as that corresponds to an empty pipette.

Pipettor

A device with a disposable tip that makes it easy to deliver liquids, especially small volumes, accurately and precisely.

Hanging Drop Slide

A specialized slide used to observe specimens for a long time because they do not dry up very quickly, allowing observation of an organism's motility.

Inoculating Loop

Also known as a smear loop, inoculation wand, or microstreaker, used to retrieve and transfer an inoculum from a culture of microorganisms.

Inoculating Needle

An instrument mainly used to pick a single pure colony and transfer it into an agar slant using the stab and streak method.

Hot Air Sterilizer

An apparatus using dry heat to sterilize heat-stable materials, media, and other materials affected by moisture.

Autoclave

An apparatus using moist heat or steam under pressure for sterilization of media and other materials affected by moisture.

Drying Oven

Equipment that is not sterile and cannot be used to sterilize culture media, used for drying specimens and lab apparatus or glassware.

Incubator

Equipment used for growing bacterial cultures or providing suitable conditions for a chemical or biological reaction.

Water Bath

Equipment used in the microbiological lab for incubations or enabling chemical reactions to occur at higher temperatures.

Refrigerator

Storage equipment for culture media that preserves the morphological characteristics of microorganisms while arresting their growth.

Biosafety Cabinet (BSC)

An enclosed, ventilated laboratory workspace for safely working with pathogens requiring a defined biosafety level.

BSL-1

Biosafety level for microbes not known to consistently cause disease in immunocompetent adult humans, posing minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment.

BSL-2

Biosafety level for microbes that pose moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment.

BSL-3

Biosafety level for indigenous or exotic microbes that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease via inhalation.

BSL-4

Biosafety level for exotic agents that pose a high risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections and life-threatening disease that is frequently fatal, with no vaccines or treatments.